Walking into Benten Japanese restaurant and sushi bar, I immediately noticed its ingenious design, which divides the small space into three seating areas including a sushi bar counter, a side section and a wooden banquette in the front.

Just inside the door hung a framed black-and-white photograph that brought back vivid memories. Taken in October 1989, it showed Benten standing untouched, surrounded by rubble from the Loma Prieta earthquake. The only quake-caused empty lot that still remains downtown is adjacent to the restaurant.

I chose a spot at the window banquette and was greeted by my server, a gracious young Japanese woman named Ai, who took my order for Hot Sake (large, $6.95) to match the wintry day. The restaurant's simple but tasteful décor included traditional red paper lanterns, a stack of sake casks and ornate, oversized fans covering one wall.

To start the meal, I chose Albacore Nigiri ($4.75) and Ai brought the plate quickly, the pale tuna draped over two mounds of rice and accompanied by undyed pickled ginger and wasabi. The fish wasn't as chilled as I prefer and was a little lacking in sheen, but its flavor was pleasant.

Ai brought a large black lacquered tray in a surprisingly short time, its surface covered with numerous dishes and dipping sauces. I sampled each one to start with varying responses. The teriyaki was outstanding: Served on shredded cabbage, the chicken was seared to smoky crispness at the edges but tender and juicy inside. My tempura was also quite good, a generous serving of nine pieces including one shrimp and a variety of vegetables. I particularly liked the green bean with its burst of bright taste under the light, crispy, rice flour crust.

The miso soup was tasty but very simple; a bit more tofu and some seaweed would have been nice additions. I relished the vinegary dressing on my cucumber salad, although the cucumber itself was a bit flabby -- unlike my crunchy iceberg lettuce topped by intriguing salty-sweet dressing, tendrils of carrot and red cabbage, a lightly steamed broccoli floret and a pretty little peeled tomato. The hijiki nimono, seaweed strands stir-fried with tofu, was intriguing. And the two fried gyozas, although a bit unsubstantial, were light and crunchy on their bed of thin, puffed rice noodles.

My two pieces of seaweed-wrapped California roll contained faux crab and avocado; real crab can be substituted for an additional dollar. The chef's-choice nigiri on the tray was maguro and unfortunately this tuna was not the blushing-pink, firm and shining fish that it should have been. Instead, the three slices were a bit dull, too soft and a little sticky. I set them aside and instead requested a side order of Hamachi ($4.50) that was fine, although again not as chilled as I like my raw fish.

For dinner later, I heated up my to-go order of Soba ($8.95) and was very happy with the hearty, healthy-tasting broth filled with slippery buckwheat noodles, big chunks of tofu and broad ribbons of wakame seaweed.

At Benten, you can learn Japanese table manners by reading the back of the menu. Such as: hold your bowl while eating from it. Slurp noodles loudly to show that you're enjoying the meal. And never, ever leave your chopsticks sticking up in your rice -- that's asking for bad luck.

Ann Parker welcomes comments, feedback and suggestions about reviews for area restaurants. Contact her at atparker@pacbell.net.

Benten is open every day except Tuesday, which is why it was closed on Oct. 17, 1989, when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck Santa Cruz. Although buildings all around the restaurant were destroyed, Benten was untouched, says owner Mieko Hawkes. 'But I was closed 42 days,' she adds.'I decided not to go into a [food] tent and thought we might have to close down. Our customers said, "Don't go, we love you." We stayed.' Hawkes is from Hokkaido, the second largest of Japan's islands and 'home of Sapporo beer,' she says with a chuckle. She opened Benten in 1985.The restaurant's head sushi chef, Isao Fugawara, is originally from Miyagi, Japan, which is near the epicenter of the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. 'Also we have a second sushi chef, Nari Ho,' says Mieko. 'Everyone in our restaurant is Japanese.'The various combination lunches and dinners are Benten's most popular items, she notes, although many people order the chicken cutlet curry available on the dinner menu. Hawkes' own favorites are the soba noodles and Tuna Wrapper sushi -- tuna-wrapped rice, spicy scallop and tobiko (flying fish eggs).-- Ann Parker